Parent Volunteer Corps

Welcome

We’re so glad you’re part of the SJA community! 

Every family is asked and invited to volunteer in the school. We have a wide range of opportunities and projects available at various times, including during school hours, evenings, and weekends. This guide explains how to volunteer at SJA. 

The Basics

1. While parents and guardians typically perform the majority of the volunteer hours, grandparents, adult siblings, and other family members are also warmly welcome. Volunteers under the age of 18 must have a waiver signed by a parent or guardian and be approved by the SJA administration. 
2. Volunteers are asked to sign up in advance, sign in when they arrive to begin their shift, and sign out when they leave. Volunteers should also wear a visitor’s badge provided by the SJA office and a name tag provided by the PVC. 
3. Each family serves a minimum of ten hours per semester, or twenty hours over the course of the academic year. There is no limit to the maximum number of hours you may volunteer. Many of our families enjoy the experience and go well beyond the minimum. 
4. Montessori families may earn four hours of credit each semester for specific obligations to their classrooms. See the Montessori section for details. 
5. 5. In most cases, credit does not roll over from semester to semester. If you volunteer for twelve hours in the fall, you are still asked to volunteer ten hours in the spring.
6. Families who cannot complete ten hours of service will be charged a fee. 
7. Some opportunities connected to our major fundraising events may earn double-hours credit. 
8. All volunteers working with children must be Virtus trained. Please see below for more information. 
9. If at any point during the semester, you’re not sure if you’re on track, please check with Ms. Rhea in the business office: rheaq@stjeromes.org. Please note that it can take several days for data entry to catch up with recent events. 

Signing-up and Signing-in

• Sign up using the SignUpGenius link in The Vox, or by responding to direct emails from class parents, teachers, or others organizing projects. 
• Sign in on the volunteer clipboard at events and activities held outside school hours OR at the reception desk for events and activities occurring during the school day. 

Mandatory Training & Background Checks

Any activity where volunteers have substantial direct contact with children, such as chaperoning a field trip, requires additional training and a background check. 

The Archdiocese of Washington requires adult volunteers who will have direct contact with children to complete a training course. Protecting God’s Children is offered regularly at parishes throughout the Archdiocese. See this link for current course offerings. It is also offered in Spanish periodically.

In addition, parents must complete a background check and have their fingerprints taken. Please contact Ms. Ritz at sritz@stjeromes.org to learn more and make arrangements. 

Types of Volunteer Assignments

• Classroom Activities - Parents and families are often invited to attend performances or presentations. These do not earn volunteer credit. However, if parents set-up, serve, and/or clean-up for a Feast Day celebration, volunteer credit is earned. In addition, some ongoing responsibilities may be available. For example, the nuns from the Servadoras need rides home during the school year and parents can volunteer for this task. Look for these opportunities through your child’s room parent, and occasionally through The Vox. 
• Clubs & Activities - At times, parents may assist with various after school clubs and activities. Look for these opportunities via The Vox, or from the coordinators of Clubs & Activities in which your children participate. 
• Cooking - SJA is grateful for the generosity of our families during bake sales. However, baking does not earn volunteer credit. 
• CYO - Parents who serve as team coaches or assistant coaches earn semester credit. In addition, staffing the CYO snack bar qualifies for credit. Please check with the CYO director, Joe Sego, or with your child’s coach for more information. Parents may sign up for snack bar shifts via the SignUpGenius in The Vox. Note that your child does not have to participate in CYO sports for you to volunteer at the snack bar. 
• Events - The majority of our activities involve some sort of event, often focused around food. Some are fundraisers; others are simply to build community. But they all take lots of hands! Look for opportunities via SignUpGenius forms in The Vox. Many of our volunteer activities fall into this category. 
• Field Trips - All classes in Grades K through 8 will periodically go on field trips for curriculum-appropriate experiences. Parents are invited to serve as chaperones. Credit is given for the number of hours spent chaperoning. 
• Montessori - If your family has a child in a Montessori class, your first four hours per semester are typically earned through snack and flowers. The remaining six hours serve the larger school community. Snack and flowers is coordinated through your child’s room parent. Any of the other opportunities can satisfy the remaining six hours. 
• Scouting - Unit leaders earn credit per semester for their work with the St. Jerome organizations: Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts Troop 224 and American Heritage Girls Troop MD 0714. Please contact local troop coordinators for more information. 
• Special Projects & Work Days - Periodically, we have specific needs at the school that call for special projects or work days. These are typically advertised in the Vox with a SignUpGenius.

Special Assignments & Earning Extra Credit

• Double Hours for Events - One of our biggest needs is staffing our two major fundraising events to invite the community to SJA. That might mean selling raffle tickets, staffing a booth, or serving food during the Carpe Noctem Holiday Market (December) or the Carnival (June). These events earn double hours of credit during the events themselves. (Set-up shifts are credited normally.) 
• Committee Chairs - Almost every SJA event has a committee chair. Their responsibilities vary based on the activity, but generally involve gathering supplies, setting up, staffing the event, and cleaning up afterwards as well as directing other volunteers during the event. If you’re interested in getting involved, please contact the PVC president. Committee chairs automatically earn full credit for the year. 
• Room Parents - Each class has a room parent. Room parents automatically earn full credit for the year. 
• SJA PVC – While all parents are members of the Parent Volunteer Corps (PVC), the PVC is led by an executive committee and working groups who plan and coordinate all of the PVC activities each year. Candidates are formally invited by our school’s principal. Executive committee and working group service fulfills the volunteer requirements for the year. 

Special Notes

• Buying out of volunteer obligations - If a family cannot take part in volunteering, the family will be assessed a fee of $200 for the 2023-2024 school year. Please contact Mrs. Rhea Quesenberry in the SJA Business Office to make arrangements. Her email is rheaq@stjeromes.org. 
• Younger Children - We love babies at SJA, and we know that many of our families have younger kids at home. Please check the SignUpGenius or check with your child’s room parent about whether it’s possible to bring younger children with you to volunteer assignments. 
• Montessori Families - The Primary Montessori families assist in the classrooms by bringing the weekly snack and flowers. Each family will be responsible for these tasks for two to three weeks throughout the year. These jobs will count together as two volunteer hours per semester. Once school starts, your room parent will distribute sign-up sheets for snacks and flowers. 

You’ll be asked to volunteer an additional six hours to the school community in general. Please note that this applies even if you have older children in the school. So if your children are in MP1, 2nd, and 5th grades, you’ll receive credit for four hours to MP1, plus earn an additional six hours through other opportunities.